United Kingdom: Organizations and clinics
UK (Scotland, England and Wales)
In the UK (Scotland, England and Wales) there is access to safe abortion services. Abortion is regulated through the Abortion Act 1967. In the UK all abortions must be carried out in a licensed facility; this can be a specialist clinic, NHS Hospital or Private Hospital. It is legal on request up to 23 weeks and 6 days if the reason/s given shows in the interests of the woman/ her children, abortion is better than birth. Abortion services are universally very sympathetic.
Because of the Corona virus emergency, the Secretaries of State for Health in England, Scotland and Wales permitted early medical abortion care at home (for pregnancies up to 10 weeks in England and Wales and 12 weeks in Scotland) to reduce risk to women, their families and NHS staff. This has been made permanent for England and Wales. Care can be delivered by telephone and both sets of pills be taken at home if there are no significant issues or health problems. This means you may not need a clinic visit, although some local NHS services have reverted to visits.
Women eligible for free NHS care can get an abortion through the NHS in hospitals or clinics but for funding reasons, where depends on where you live. Care may be on an NHS site or it may be through an independent provider such as BPAS, MSI or NUPAS amongst others.
Abortion information and care can be accessed via your GP. It can also be accessed through other services.
For England, if you click on http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Pregnancy%20termination/LocationSearch/292 you can find who you can contact near where you live to ask where local services are provided and how you can get an appointment.
A new abortion-helpline can be contacted if you to talk about your decision or need more information
https://www.abortiontalk.com/
For Scotland, the website is www.nhs24.com and www.nhsinform.scotor contact your GP or local sexual health/ family planning service
For Wales the website is www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk or contact your GP or local sexual health/ family planning service
Most places that provide NHS care also provide private care. 3 large providers are BPAS https://www.bpas.org , MSI https://www.mariestopes.org.uk and NUPAS www.nupas.co.uk
If you are undocumented you can receive help from Doctors of the World. You can contact them through the Clinic advice line: 0808 1647 686 (freephone). This line is open from 10am to 12 midday, Monday to Friday. They provide a translation service for people who do not speak English.
UK (Island of Man)
Legal abortion in the Isle of Man are available from May 24th 2019
If you’d like information, advice, or to book an appointment, call 01624 642521 – and, as the Abortion Reform Act 2019 says, you don’t need to be referred by your GP.
It’s the same number for early medical abortions, available on-Island, or to access fully-funded terminations at a UK clinic.
All abortion care is managed by bpas.
Isle of Man abortion services: 01624 642521, email info@bpas.org or Request a call back here: https://www.bpas.org/contact-us/request-a-call-back/
Abortion Support Network will still help those who need to travel for procedures not covered by the law or costs not covered by the government for those who have financial need.
There is an independent, non-directive, counselling service too – that number is 01624 642540.
Isle of Man Abortion Reform Act 2019:
- The Isle of Man has decriminalized abortion
- A pregnant person can request an abortion up to 14 weeks – for any reason.
- There are no mandatory ‘waiting times’ and voluntary independent counselling (pre- and post-abortion) must be made available, should the woman request it.
To read the full Act:
https://consult.gov.im/office-of-the-clerk-of-tynwald/abortion-reform-bill-2017/
http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/20182021/2019-SD-0123.pdf
UK (Northern Ireland)
For Northern Ireland In the first week of April 2020 the Chief Medical Officer approved abortions to be available in Northern Ireland up to 9 weeks and 6 days. Clinics are open in Belfast, Portadown and Ballymena. The service in the Western Trust is currently suspended. Bookings currently are through BPAS; the quickest way is an on-line appointment request via https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/considering-abortion/northern-ireland-funded-abortion-treatment/
After this stage, women have to travel to England for free NHS treatmen
You might have reasons for access to abortion in Ireland, pe if you have a PPS number for working and studying in the Republic of Ireland, you have access to abortion service in Ireland free of charge. For more information about abortion in Ireland, go to the HSE website
Or call My Options on freephone 1800828010.
All doctors and clinics are required to keep their patient information confidential, so you do not have to worry that they inform anybody about your need for help.